Sunil Grover, who was last seen in Salman Khan’s Bharat, became a household name couple of years ago with Gutthi, a character on Kapil Sharma’s show. However, his life before the fame had been pretty rocky in a post for Humans of Bombay, the actor revealed how he enjoyed, struggled and is grateful for what he has.
Sunil Grover went on to reveal he was the super star of his town, but after coming to Mumbai he realised he there were many like him here. After wasting a year away with his saving and money from home life gave the actor a reality check. “I was someone who was always good at mimicry, acting and making people laugh. I remember when I was in 12th, and took part in a drama competition — the chief guest said that I shouldn’t participate, because it was unfair to the others! After I finished my masters in theatre, I shifted to Mumbai to pursue acting. But for the first year, I did nothing but party. I lived in a posh area, using my savings and some money from home. I’d only earn around Rs. 500 a month. But I thought I didn’t have to worry because I’d be successful and would earn more soon.”
But it didn’t take long before I realised that there were many others like me, who were the ‘superstars’ of their town — and ‘strugglers’ here. Soon I had no income, and was given a harsh reality check,” he added.
He also talked about being demotivated, and what kept him going even if in his hardest phase of life, “I was demotivated. But I remembered how when my father was young, he wanted to become a radio announcer — and even had an offer letter. But because my grandfather was against it, he had to work at a bank, and regretted it. I didn’t want to give up on my dreams. So I picked up the pieces, I took help from my friends, and started rigorously looking for work. Slowly I got work, but the road was still rocky. Once I’d been selected to play a role in a TV show — we’d even shot for a couple of days. But one day, I stopped getting my call time to come on set. When I asked the production guys, they said I’d been kicked out of the show. I was never told why. But that’s when I also started getting a lot of work in voiceovers and garnered a name there. So when I’d be rejected from TV shows and films, I had a cushion to fall back upon. I knew some people didn’t even have that — I realised how fortunate I was and regained my strength bit by bit.”
“Around that time, I got offered to do a radio show. It was only going to be aired in Delhi, but when the show went live, it went viral! They decided to air it across India! After that, I started getting all kinds of opportunities on radio, T.V, and films. Soon ‘Gutthi’ happened to me, and in no time, it became a household name! I remember how I was called on a live show, and when I entered the stage, the audience was literally roaring for me! I turned around to make sure there wasn’t anyone behind me, whom they were actually clapping for — but it was all for me,” he said.
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